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Lewis and Clark Expedition
Wood River,
IL ,
USA
Latitude & Longitude:
38° 51' 39.120012",
-90° 6' 36.659988"
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Illinois State
Historical Marker
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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark originally planned to camp west of the Mississippi River during the winter of 1803-04. Carlos Dehault Delassus, the Spanish commandant at St. Louis, however, had not received formal notification from his government of the Louisiana Purchase and would not permit the expedition to cross the river. Thus in the middle of December, 1803, Clark led about twenty-five men to the winter camp on the American side at the mouth of the Wood River, then 1.25 miles southwest of this site.
At Camp River Dubois Lewis and Clark gathered supplies, compiled information and trained their men. Originally there were nine Kentuckians, fourteen soldiers, two French watermen, one hunter- interpreter and Clark's Negro servant at the camp. They were energetic, healthy individualists who did not accept discipline willingly. During the winter Lewis reprimanded several men for refusing to obey the orders of their officers, failing to perform sentry duty and making 'hunting of other business a pretext to cover their design of visiting a neighbouring whiskey shop...'
Additional recruits enlisted for the first part of the trip Through hostile Indian country and in the spring three boats loaded with provisions, ammunition and merchandise were prepared for the long journey from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean and back. On May 14, 1804, Clark and about forty-five men 'Set out at 4 o'clock P.M., in the presence of many of the neighboring inhabitants, and proceeded on under a gentle breeze up the Missouri.'
Last updated: 2/14/2015 15:17:00 |
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See all Illinois African American History locations.
Editor Note: StoppingPoints.com does not condone the use of racist terms. In some instances, our guide displays these terms when quoting the text found on historical markers. Please consider the use of antiquated/offensive terms in this context as merely documenting history involving African-Americans and other persons of color, and is in no way intended as an endorsement nor insult.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition Historical Marker Location Map, Wood River, Illinois Map
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